Examining the Shapes of Atomic Orbitals Using Mathcad

• B. Ramachandran ^[1]
  1. [1] Louisiana Tech University

     Louisiana Tech University

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 72, Nº 12 (December), 1995, págs. 1082-1083
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • One of the more difficult aspects of atomic structure theory at the undergraduate level lies in understanding the specific roles played by the radial and angular parts of hydrogenic wave functions in giving the atomic orbitals their three-dimensional shapes. This article describes how three-dimensional contour plots of spherical harmonics may be generated using Mathcad, versions 4.0 or higher. Mathcad is relatively inexpensive, runs on inexpensive PC's, and has a very intuitive user interface.